Strength of Hercules Demo
Strength of Hercules Slot Review
Join Hercules, the Demi-God of strength, as he embarks on the trials of legend in Strength of Hercules, courtesy of Hacksaw Gaming!
Donning his trusty Lion’s skin and a heart full of courage, Hercules is ready to conquer foes and unlock divine rewards in Strength of Hercules. After testing the waters in Twisted Lab, the nifty RotoGrid mechanic returns for another adventure, finding itself in the presence of a Demi-God.
Being the Demi-God of strength, it’s only fitting that Hercules should display his robust and burly physique, flexing and posing in a manner of ways next to the reel set. The cartoon animations and creative design only add to its appeal, as portrayed in many Hacksaw titles previously.
Will Strength of Hercules cement our passion for the RotoGrid mechanic? Let’s play on and find out!
Base Game & Features
Strength of Hercules is a 5-reel, 5-row Video Slot with a maximum of 3,125 ways to win and varying bet sizes between £.€0.10 and £.€100 per spin. Other attributes include a Mid-High Volatility rating, an overall RTP of 96.31%, and a max win cap of 10,000x your bet.
Of the 10 paytable symbols, the highest-paying produces wins between 1x and 5x your bet. All other paytable symbols can deliver payouts between 0.1x and 2x your bet. Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except Scatters. Wins occur when 3-5 matching symbols land from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
RotoGrid
Special RotoGrid symbols that appear on the reels are only activated after wins have been awarded. Once active, the RotoGrid symbol will reveal 1, 2, or 3 rotations that are collected and stored in a meter outside the reel set. After this, the RotoGrid symbol transforms into a Wild.
Each rotation turns the reel set a quarter turn clockwise, unlocking the possibility of new wins being created on the reels. Each rotation is awarded one at a time, processing any new wins before the next rotation begins. If multiple RotoGrid symbols are present, they will activate individually, after all rotations from the previous set are concluded.
Connecting Wilds
After the grid has rotated, any Wild symbols on the same reel will connect, filling all positions between them with additional Wild symbols. If the reels rotate again, both the original and new Wilds will connect with others on their respective reels, potentially filling the reels with more Wild symbols.
Might of Hercules
When the reel set has settled, there is the chance that Hercules will hit the reels with his club or fist. When this happens, all instances of a random symbol in view will be replaced with Wild symbols.
Bonus Buy
- Bonushunt Featurespins: Each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger a Free Spins mode (3x your bet)
- RotoGrid Featurespins: Each spin guarantees at least 1 RotoGrid symbol and 2 Wilds (60x your bet)
- Extreme RotoGrid Featurespins: Each spin guarantees at least 1 RotoGrid symbol (60x your bet (60x your bet)
- Strength Is My Legacy: Choose between Labors and Labyrinth Free Spins modes (100x your bet)
- Victory Is My Destiny: Choose between Godly Labors and Goldy Labyrinth Free Spins modes (200x your bet)
Bonus Choice
Landing 3 or 4 Scatters anywhere in the base game triggers the Free Spins round, taking you into a Bonus Choice Menu, where you can choose between 2 Free Spins modes.
- 3 FS Scatters: Awards Labors and Labyrinth Free Spins modes
- 4 FS Scatters: Awards Godly Labors and Godly Labyrinth Free Spins modes
Labors Bonus
When choosing this mode, you will automatically receive 10 Free Spins. This round maintains the same mannerisms as the base game, only with higher chances of landing RotoGrid and Wild symbols. Landing 2 or 3 FS Scatters awards an additional +2 and +4 Free Spins respectively.
In Godly Labors, you will be awarded a variant of the regular Labors bonus. During this round, RotoGrid and Wild symbols will appear more frequently.
Labyrinth Bonus
When choosing this mode, you will automatically receive 8 Free Spins as standard. In this round, new Black Skull Blocks and Cracked Stones appear alongside FS Scatters, Multiplying and Adding Coins.
The aim of this round is to collect as many Coin and FS Scatters into the Treasure Chests below the main reel set. When a Coin or FS Scatter lands above a Cracked Stone, it will be crushed and disappear from the reel set, allowing Coins and FS Scatters to pass through positions. This process continues until a Black Skull blocks the way, or the Coin or FS symbol reaches a Treasure Chest.
Each Treasure Chest has a Progressive Multiplier which is paid out at the end of the round, multiplied by your current bet. Collected Coin symbols will either Add or Multiply the overall Treasure Chest multiplier. Please note, that all Treasure Chests begin at x1.
- Adding Coins: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x
- Multiplying Coins: x2, x3, x4, x5, x10, x20
- FS Scatters: Award +1 Free Spin
Once all Coin and FS Scatters have moved as far as they can, there is a chance the reel set will rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise. When the reel set rotates, it allows Coins and FS Scatters to move to a new position by breaking Cracked Stones, leading them through the ‘Labyrinth’ of Black Skulls and towards the bottom of the reels.
If the Might of Hercules triggers, a random number of Black Skull symbols will be destroyed, as well as the occasional Cracked Stone. If Black Skull symbols or Cracked Stones are destroyed, additional FS and/or Coin symbols will appear in view.
In Godly Labyrinth, you will be awarded a variant of the regular Labyrinth bonus, only Coins display a higher value and appear more frequently.
Our Verdict
Hacksaw’s RotoGrid mechanic isn’t used nearly as much as we thought it would be. It appeared in the scientific and creative experiment that was Twisted Lab RotoGrid, but not since. Granted, the feature does mess with your head a little if you’re not used to it. It’s hard to determine what it’s doing, where the wins are and if they’re any good if its your first foray, but you soon learn to read and appreciate its literal twists and turns.
RotoGrid aside, Strength of Hercules is rather feature-packed, with connecting wilds to complement the existing mechanics and the Might of Hercules to smash out those undesirable low paying symbol, replacing them with more attractive wilds instead. Most of its diversity becomes apparent through its bonus features, of which there are 3…or two really if you put the Labors and Godly Labors in the same category.
Regardless, there are ample features to experience, and it comes packed with the predictable yet attractive 10,000x win cap.
Does Strength of Hercules and its RotoGrid make it a titan like Hercules himself? Not quite. It’s a pretty great game, and while we’re fans of RotoGrid ourselves, we can certainly appreciate the perspective of those who deem it a little too eccentric.
Overall, it’s another job well done. We don’t think it’s praise will be loud enough to be heard from the heavens, but it’ll garner some fans.